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The chairman of Britain’s biggest minicab firm could face criminal prosecution
for instructing his drivers to drive illegally in bus lanes, The Times
has learnt.

John Griffin, chairman of Addison Lee, last month instructed his drivers to
ignore the law by driving in bus lanes, promising to indemnify them for any
fines incurred and claiming that it was “discriminatory” to restrict the
lane use to black cabs and not private hire vehicles.

Though the High Court forced Addison Lee to withdraw the instruction to break
the law, Ian Austin, the Labour MP for Dudley, wrote to the Metropolitan
Police to ask whether Mr Griffin’s original instruction broke the law.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) confirmed that Transport for London
(TfL), the capital’s highways agency, had also asked whether any criminal
offence had been committed in issuing the instruction.

In a written response to Mr Austin, Commander Adrian Hanstock wrote: “TfL also
asked the MPS to establish whether any offences are apparent arising from Mr
Griffin’s directive.

“Mr Griffin’s letter has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for
consideration and the MPS is awaiting the outcome of this legal advice.”

Commander Hanstock also confirmed that TfL had requested that the Metropolitan
Police Service Safer Transport Command “actively prosecute any contravention
of bus lanes by unauthorised vehicles”, which Commander Hanstock described
as a “recognised priority” of road policing units.

An expert said that prosecutors at the CPS would now be considering
allegations that Mr Griffin’s instruction to his drivers could constitute
criminal incitement. The move does not mean that Mr Griffin will necessarily
face charges.

Nick Freeman, a solicitor specialising in traffic and speeding offences,
claimed: “He is inciting his employees to commit an unlawful act.

“There is a criminal aspect, in terms of inciting someone to commit an
unlawful act.”

Mr Freeman added that the letter could allegedly also be actionable under
employment law by drivers wishing to sever their employment contract.

He added: “If I was working for him I would leave and say I had been
constructively dismissed.”

The Addison Lee chairman also provoked criticism last month by claiming that
cyclists should expect to be hurt by drivers if they are “throwing
themselves on to some of the most congested spaces on the world” and
criticised those who are “up in arms about what they see as the murder of
cyclists on London roads”.

Ian Austin MP, who is also the chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling
Group, which has been supporting The Times’s ‘Cities
fit for cycling’ campaign, said: “John Griffin might think he is
funny, but the police clearly take a different view and given the number of
cyclists killed and injured, many people will think it is dangerous and
irresponsible for someone in his position to encourage conflict on the roads
and tell his drivers to ignore the rules.”

An Addison Lee spokesman declined to comment on the allegations, but said: “It
is my understanding that TfL referred [the letter] to the police who
referred it to the CPS. We’ve heard nothing back from that. We have
withdrawn the letter and have had the judicial review of the bus lanes law
brought forward to June, so it has been a success from our point of view.

“The drivers are all self-employed. They don’t have to go through anything
special to terminate their contract. It was clear in the letter that it was
up to the driver whether they drove in the bus lane and that if the
passenger told the driver they didn’t want to use the bus lane, they didn’t
have to go in them.”

The Times has been invited to attend Addison Lee’s driver training to assess
whether it complies with demands made in the ‘Cities fit for cycling’
campaign about improving drivers’ awareness of cyclists.